IoT Solutions for Energy Efficient Buildings
The Situation
The client, a commercial real estate services company, was responsible for overseeing the leasing & operations of several large multi floored commercial building spaces spread across cities and zones.
The client had expressed concerns about several issues in managing these geographically spread locations and more specifically on rising energy costs and also the need to reduce their carbon footprint. As their internal IT team was more operations focused, they approached us to conceptualize a next-generation facility management technology blueprint, and with the first phase focusing on energy efficiency.
The decision was taken to invest in the creation of a digital twin with a BIM interface to model the optimization and in an IOT based automated measurement system. The priority was to enable optimization of energy consumption and improve overall sustainability.
The Task
The goal was to identify & monitor all energy usage across the different locations and define the interfaces in which the energy usage could be controlled. This meant the study of existing installations (A/c, DG, Lighting etc), where some areas already had IoT sensors and many did not. Furthermore, each area equipment had different manufacturers, and interfacing requirements.
To aid in this, IOT based sensors were to be installed at all places (where absent), and the interfaces to the different protocols (https, modbus etc) and the kind of data capture of each sensor to be studied, implemented.
It was also required to ensure that the sensors are compatible with the existing digital twin framework for seamless integration.
Using the above guidelines, the system was to be implemented to provide real-time data on energy consumption, identify areas of inefficiency, and enable remote management to make necessary adjustments for energy conservation.
The Action / Approach
- Real time measurement of consumption from air-conditioning, lighting, workstations and others, automatically using IOT sensors was required. The data was aggregated at a floor wise panel (using modbus and backnet protocols) and from there we implemented a IOT to Cloud connector to ingest the data into the cloud database. This mechanism allowed us to monitor energy consumption in real-time, identify anomalies, and track historical trends.
- This IOT based automation enabled us to monitor availability of these systems (both sources and consumers) and provide real time consumption data which is also fed to the BIM model for computation of the changes due to energy optimization efforts.
- The IOT system further enabled us to implement real time monitoring of the facility for all the energy, water and air quality systems.
- The system was configured to send alerts and notifications through the software to the facility management team whenever unusual energy spikes or system malfunctions were detected. This allowed the facility manager to respond promptly to any issues.
The client was also provided with a user-friendly interface that allowed users to monitor energy consumption and billing in real time and make manual adjustments remotely. This gave greater control over the energy usage and allowed for quick response to unexpected events.
The Result
The implementation of the IOT-based energy management system yielded significant results:
- Within the first year, the client saw a 20% reduction in their energy bills, resulting in substantial cost savings. This was done by implementing the recommendations from the analytics of the BIM + digital twin data and using the IOT system to continuously monitor the data for the improvements.
- The optimized energy usage led to a 15% reduction in the building’s carbon emissions, aligning with the client’s sustainability goals.
- Occupants reported improved comfort due to more consistent temperature and lighting levels, enhancing their overall experience.
- The real time measurements of energy and water utilization enabled better budget planning and in the establishment of carbon reduction goals
- With real-time monitoring and alerts, the operations team was able to implement preventive maintenance to address equipment malfunctions and prevent costly breakdowns.
The client expressed high satisfaction with the IOT-based energy management solution, as it not only met their energy and sustainability objectives but also simplified facility management. With data gathered for over 6 months, the next phase of AI based analytics is leading towards building a predictive maintenance solution.
